Robert Vollstedt (1854-1919)

Robert Vollstedt, another German composer who composed very much in the Viennese idiom, was born near Hamburg in Germany but very little is known about his musical education. As principal clarinettist in the Hamburg Opera House orchestra, he remained with them for most of his working career and he must have received some formal training. Although Vollstedt was primarily a march composer, he has been remembered mostly for his waltz Jolly Brothers, which became known internationally. He composed mainly for piano and specialised in dance music of various types, much of it being what we would classify as salon music. However his marches, which have been played around the world, including America, form the bulk of the music for which he became known. They were in a style that can be described as somewhere between the very light and melodic and those for a large military band created by bandmasters such as Carl Teike. Like several noted composers of his era, he was quite well known during his lifetime, but was soon forgotten and today his works are sadly neglected.